Grayson Pierce and Eloise Caldwell novel Chapter 14

Chapter 14

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The rain poured down in torrents, the world outside reduced to a blur of gray and the impatient blare of car horns.

Their eyes met. For a moment, nothing else existed. It was just the two of them.

Despite Eloise’s resolve to draw a clear line with Grayson, he still occupied a profound and unshakable space in her heart.

Seeing him in that moment, Eloise felt a sudden, almost overwhelming urge to throw herself into his arms. She held back.

She believed to Grayson, their past was a closed chapter, a minor episode long forgotten. Only she remained stuck on that page, unable to move forward.

The thought twisted painfully inside her, a fresh wave of sorrow threatening to spill over.

Grayson looked down at the girl before him, her eyes red–rimmed from unshed tears and the sting of the rain. His usual cool composure finally cracked.

He pulled her close, tucking her head under his chin. “Don’t worry,” he whispered. “I’m right here.”

The familiar, clean scent of his sandalwood cologne washed over her. Eloise froze for a second, then she allowed herself to lean into him.

‘Just this once,‘ she thought, her heart aching. ‘Let me have this one last moment, leaning against the chest that once felt like the safest place in the world.‘

Tears, indistinguishable from the rain, began to soak through the front of his shirt.

Grayson’s large hand gently stroked her hair. “It’s over now.”

Eloise couldn’t allow herself this weakness for long. After a few precious seconds, she stiffened and pushed herself away, avoiding his gaze, suddenly embarrassed by her display.

Grayson didn’t comment on her retreat. “Get in my car first,” he said. He nodded toward a sleek Bentley idling by the curb.

Eloise shook her head. “Noah is still in car.”

my

Grayson pressed the umbrella handle into her hand, his eyes holling hers with a gentle insistence. “Hold this. I’ll carry him

out.”

With Eloise holding the umbrella over them, Grayson opened the back door. Seeing the boy, he quickly unfastened the seatbelt and lifted him out.

Held by his father for the first time, Noah was at a loss, his gaze ked intently on Grayson’s profile.

He was wondering, ‘Daddy is so handsome. Daddy’s arms are so warm! It was a strange, wonderful, and confusing feeling all

at once.

Grayson carried Noah to the Bentley. He then took the umbrella back from Eloise and held it high for her. “Get in.”

Eloise gave him one last, searching look before sliding into the passenger seat. Through the side mirror, she watched as Grayson jogged back to her dented SUV.

Grayson moved her car to the roadside, then directed the other river to do the same. With the lane cleared, the traffic jam was resolved. The long queue of stalled traffic began to crawl forward again.

Soon after, a police car arrived. Grayson went to deal with the aftermath, making sure Eloise stayed in the car.

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Chapter 14

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About ten minutes later, he got back into the driver’s seat of the Bentley. His eyes found hers in the rearview mirror. “It’s settled. Don’t worry. The other driver was found fully at fault.”

He started the engine. “Where do you live? I’ll take you home.”

Eloise shook her head quickly. “That’s not necessary. I can drive my own car back.” Her hand went to the door handle.

With a decisive click, Grayson locked the doors first. “Your car isn’t safe to drive right now. I’ll have someone pick it up for repairs. At least you gotta think about your nephew’s safety. What if something gave out halfway home?”

Eloise glanced back at Noah. She knew Grayson was right, but she couldn’t let him know where they really lived. So she gave him the name of a real, but different, apartment complex.

Noah heard her lie and looked at her but said nothing, his loyalt unwavering.

Grayson didn’t question it. He tapped the address into the car’s navigation system. Ekloland was vast, and he wasn’t familiar with every district.

The rain was still falling, though it had lightened to a drizzle. Eloise noticed that one side of Grayson’s shoulder was soaked through.

He had tilted the umbrella completely over her. For all his sharp tongue, in a crisis, his ingrained chivalry still surfaced.

Her own clothes were soaked, dampening the luxurious leather seat. She felt a pang of embarrassment.

A heavy silence settled in the car.

“What were you doing out here?” Grayson asked, finally breaking the quiet.

“We went to the zoo,” Eloise answered softly.

After that brief exchange, the awkward silence descended once more.

They soon reached the entrance to the complex Eloise named. Grayson pulled over. “Which building? I can drive you to the door.”

“No, thanks. You’ve done more than enough already,” Eloise said her words rushing out. “We can walk from here. It’s not far.” Grayson seemed to consider insisting but then relented. He haned her the umbrella. “It’s still raining”

Eloise took it. “Thank you, Mr. Pierce.”

As she reached for the door handle again, he stopped her. “Wait need your contact information. I’ll have your car delivered once it’s repaired.”

Since the other party was at fault, the repairs would be covered by their insurance, costing Eloise nothing.

She recited her phone number. Grayson nodded and made a show of saving it in his phone, though he had known the number for weeks.

“Mr. Pierce, thank you for your help. Goodbye” Eloise watched s face carefully as she gave the number, but his expression remained perfectly neutral, showing no flicker of recognition.

‘It’s been five years,‘ she thought, a fresh ache in her chest. She ht never changed her number, secretly hoping Grayson might one day call.

She had even stayed in their old apartment in Ucrevine for year after he left, afraid he wouldn’t be able to find her if he came back.

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Chapter 14.

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Eloise lowered her eyes. ‘It’s been a pathetic, self–deceiving game Grayson could have found me easily if he wanted to. He never did. And now, hearing my number, he hasn’t even blinked. He must have deleted it long ago, forgotten it completely

Noah, sensing the shift in her mood, slipped his small hand into hers, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

They entered the complex, waited until Grayson’s car had vanished from sight, and then left to return to their own neighborhood.

At home, Eloise took a shower and changed into dry, comfortable clothes. Noah complained he was hungry, so she made macaroni and cheese. The warm meal filled their bellies and soothed their nerves.

Eloise got Noah ready for bed. He was independent enough to bathe and brush his teeth by himself, though she lent a hand where needed.

Only after Noah was asleep did Eloise finally pick up her phone. There was one missed call from an Ekloland number. It had only rung for five seconds.

A text message followed: [This is Grayson Pierce, and this is my number. Save it. Call me if you need anything.]

A bitter smile touched Eloise’s lips. ‘As if I could call you if I needed anything. We have no connection anymore.”

Still, she saved the new contact. In her phone, another contact for Grayson still existed, the number from five years ago. It was a disconnected line she had dialed countless times, long after she knew it would never connect.

Her finger hovered over it, then she tapped “Delete.”

Opening WhatsApp, she saw a friend request from Grayson. She left it pending, unanswered.

Setting the phone aside, she reached for the small penguin plushie on her nightstand.

Grayson had won it for her at an aquarium on one of their dates five years ago. She’d thought it was adorable back then, gazing at it for the longest time until he simply went and got it for her.

Eloise could still remember the sheer joy she felt, the way she had thrown her arms around his neck and kissed him.

A single tear rolled down her cheek and landed on the penguin’s fuzzy head. She threw it into the wastebasket by her desk. Then she turned off the light and lay in the bed.

About an hour later, Eloise got up again. She fished the penguin but of the trash, brushed off a bit of dust, and stuffed it into the very back of her closet.

She couldn’t bring herself to throw it away. She would hide it awy instead.

Just like her feelings for Grayson, she couldn’t sever them completely, not yet, so she would tuck them away in a dark corner of her heart, out of sight.